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Is a celebrity in a commercial a warning sign not to buy?


MickinMD

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When I watch commercials I often try to figure out WHY the advertising agency chose the script, scene, and people and WHY the company whose product is being advertised ok'd it.

Sometimes there are commercials where, if you missed the first 5 seconds, you never learn the name of the product being advertised. I've often wanted, out of curiosity, to write to companies asking them why they ok'd such commercials.

Then there are the commercials with celebrities.  Many are apparently aimed at simply associating the product with the celebrity, like the Kaley Cuoco commercial for Toyota where she does genie stuff that isn't real, but never mentions anything about the car itself. It's like the old "watch my hand" distraction! Or the Mila Kunis & Ashton Kutcher commercials where the only thing you learn is Mila ate the Cheetos.

And you've got pro athletes, some of whom do not have drivers licenses because they can't read the written test and where 1 in 5 NFL players is bankrupt within 5 years of leaving pro football, in commercials telling people they "get the best deal," etc. from companies they clearly don't understand and if you could ask them, "What's better about their deal than their competitors deal?" they surely wouldn't have a clue.

So, if someone has to use a celebrity to promote their product, should we be wary that maybe it's not such a good product because they can't make a commercial where the product looks better than competitors due to its own merits?

Then you have celebrities who disgustingly make false claims.

Baltimore Colts legendary quarterback John Unitas promoted, in a commercial, "my friends" from a Florida Savings and Loan that went bankrupt during the S&L Scandal that began in the late 80's. So a customer of the S&L, who lost money, sued Unitas because he said people could trust his friends.  The judge threw it out saying everyone knew it was just a commercial!  In other words, we all know commercials often lie, yet somehow they're exempt from conviction!

You have Tom Selleck in commercials today, saying he's been around and knows what he's talking about and if a reverse mortgage had ever hurt anyone, he wouldn't promote it. This is despite that fact that, over the last decade, the federal government and states have passed numerous laws to address the cheating of people through reverse mortgages - like forcing couples to put the house in the name of the man only and then throwing the widow out after the man dies.  I used to admire Tom Selleck. Now he's a rat.

So is associating the product with the celebrity or making it easier for people to believe b.s .the reason why the advertising agencies and companies hiring them go to the expense of hiring a celebrity when a good commercial could pay peanuts for someone to ask, "Where's the beef?" or be a fictional insurance selling character like "Flo?" - in commercials where the merit of the product (100% beef or check for lower insurance prices from other companies) is mentioned?

Canada used to have a law banning celebrities in commercials back in 1975 when I taught and studied at the University of Toronto,  I don't know what happened to it - probably shot down in court - but there should be something like that in force or else a law allowing the celebrity and advertising agency to be sued if the product doesn't live up to promises and implications.

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I think really the commercials are an indicator of how far the "star" has fallen.

 

For example, I read this, "Actress Charlize Theron has graced the ads of French luxury design house Dior for a few years."  Who the heck is Charlize?

And this, " With a little help from a clip of Marilyn Monroe and her white dress blowing up over a sidewalk grate, William Defoe plays a cranky Marilyn in this highly popular promotion.."  Who the heck is William Defoe?

and....Renowned actor and film producer Ryan Reynolds made the news when he and Mint Mobile became involved. 

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The one that bugged me was Montel Williams, the crusader for the people, selling payday loans. He is a retiree from the US Navy.

Williams enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1974. He completed the one-year Naval Academy Preparatory School course and then in 1975, he was accepted as the first black Marine into the four-year officer training program at the U.S. Naval Academy.

He graduated in 1980 with a degree in general engineering and a minor in international security affairs. He completed Naval Cryptologic Officer training, and spent 18 months in Guam as a cryptologic officer for naval intelligence. He was later supervising cryptologic officer with the Naval Security Fleet Support Division at Fort Meade, Maryland. It was there Williams worked for the National Security Agency, where he was involved in the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983, known as Operation Urgent Fury. On several occasions, he worked to secure the release of United States citizens — typically military personnel who had been captured in foreign lands — returned to U.S. soil. After 17 years of active duty and 5 more as a reservist, Williams retired in 1996 from the Naval Reserve at the rank of lieutenant commander after 22 years of service. His awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, two Navy Commendation Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, two Navy Expeditionary Medals, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and two Humanitarian Service Medals.[

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18 minutes ago, Airehead said:

I think really the commercials are an indicator of how far the "star" has fallen.

 

For example, I read this, "Actress Charlize Theron has graced the ads of French luxury design house Dior for a few years."  Who the heck is Charlize?

And this, " With a little help from a clip of Marilyn Monroe and her white dress blowing up over a sidewalk grate, William Defoe plays a cranky Marilyn in this highly popular promotion.."  Who the heck is William Defoe?

and....Renowned actor and film producer Ryan Reynolds made the news when he and Mint Mobile became involved. 

You don't know Oscar winner Theron? Multiple Oscar nominee Defoe? And all around good looking dreamie Canadian hunk Reynolds????

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A celebrity can catch your attention for ads that otherwise go unnoticed,  but the nature of the product does indicate how desperate the celebrity is. A national prime time campaign, is the high bar.   Medicare Advantage plans or Reverse Mortgages on Buzzr tv are the low bar. 

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1 hour ago, donkpow said:

The one that bugged me was Montel Williams, the crusader for the people, selling payday loans. He is a retiree from the US Navy.

Williams enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1974. He completed the one-year Naval Academy Preparatory School course and then in 1975, he was accepted as the first black Marine into the four-year officer training program at the U.S. Naval Academy.

He graduated in 1980 with a degree in general engineering and a minor in international security affairs. He completed Naval Cryptologic Officer training, and spent 18 months in Guam as a cryptologic officer for naval intelligence. He was later supervising cryptologic officer with the Naval Security Fleet Support Division at Fort Meade, Maryland. It was there Williams worked for the National Security Agency, where he was involved in the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983, known as Operation Urgent Fury. On several occasions, he worked to secure the release of United States citizens — typically military personnel who had been captured in foreign lands — returned to U.S. soil. After 17 years of active duty and 5 more as a reservist, Williams retired in 1996 from the Naval Reserve at the rank of lieutenant commander after 22 years of service. His awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, two Navy Commendation Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, two Navy Expeditionary Medals, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and two Humanitarian Service Medals.[

Wholy carp.  A National Defense Service Medal.  Wow.

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1 hour ago, sheep_herder said:

Then there are folks like me that assumes most ads are bs, and pay no attention to them. Doubt that I would get within 10 feet of a doctor that resorts to advertising on tv.

In Canada, I've noticed specific rules on certain advertising. It's pretty rare to have a physician advertise on tv at all.  They think of malpractice situations..

I also notice way more prescription drug advertising on U.S. tv  channels than Canada.

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2 hours ago, shootingstar said:

In Canada, I've noticed specific rules on certain advertising. It's pretty rare to have a physician advertise on tv at all.  They think of malpractice situations..

I also notice way more prescription drug advertising on U.S. tv  channels than Canada.

I hate those prescription ads.

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58 minutes ago, Airehead said:

I hate those prescription ads.

I have wondered who those are targeted to?  I mean I don’t tell me doctor I think I have X illness, put me on the med I saw in the commercial.  My Dr is the one prescribing meds.  So are they targeting the Drs/medical community then? 

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29 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

I have wondered who those are targeted to?  I mean I don’t tell me doctor I think I have X illness, put me on the med I saw in the commercial.  My Dr is the one prescribing meds.  So are they targeting the Drs/medical community then? 

Fast listeners are not being targeted.

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On 10/20/2021 at 11:49 AM, MickinMD said:

When I watch commercials I often try to figure out WHY the advertising agency chose the script, scene, and people and WHY the company whose product is being advertised ok'd it.

Probably to distract from the disclaimers at the end and the tiny print???

One key take-away I have from most ads like these is that if you are ALLERGIC to it, DON'T take it!  Or, at least, expect some side effects and no legal recourse.

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On 10/20/2021 at 12:02 PM, Razors Edge said:

Yes. All celebrities except Mayim Bialek.  She can be trusted. @Philander Seabury and I are on the same page with this one!

That brain vitamin commercial is the one thing I find dislikeable about her.  There are a couple things she says involving specific vitamins making you smarter that sound suspicious to me.  And her claim that she should know because she's a Ph.D. neurobiologist doesn't quite ring true.  It's like saying you're an expert in washing machines just because you're a mechanic.  Her Ph.D. Thesis was on diseases, not on the nutrients that make the neurons work better or how they get into the system.

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